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Are dwarf hamsters always social?

pink piggy

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Okay, what I wanted to say was that, you know how they usually say that dwarf hamsters are social, but are they always social, I mean, could you keep them solitarily? Oh yeah, and for beginners, what would you (anybody) think is the best type of hamster to get for a beginner because I heard that all hamsters bite, eek! Thank you if you can help.:)
 

dagwellismypigy

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Syrians, often called Teddy Bear hamsters, are the best for a first time hammie owner. They are slower (compared to the dwarfs) they are always solitary and generally more friendly. You can't house them in the cages with tubes really because they tend to be too small.

Dwarf hamsters aren't always social. I've read on a hamster site I belong to that it's pretty much only a 50% chance they'll get along. If your adopting a older dwarf it's best to keep it alone if it's been alone most of it's life. Dwarfs are really fast and Robo's (smallest of the dwarfs) are speed demons. They aren't always the best for a first time owner. They are more for watching then handling, not that you shouldn't handle them, just don't be disapointed if they don't really cuddle.

See www.hamsterific.com , it's a great site
 

xguineapigrulez

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Syrian's are the best for beginners, they are cute and cuddly and they hardly ever bite!
Roborovski's ARE REALLY FAST I have one! And if you like handling the hamsters they will not be for you. Roborovski's by nature, are untameable. They may accept to take food by your hand, but they will run FAST when you try to pick them up to clean their cage.
 

pink piggy

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Oh okay, thanks for the information. They helped a lot, because I thought about getting Roborovskie hamsters at first, since they sounded like fun little midgets, but I wasn't sure whether they were best for beginners or not, so thanks again, I'll consider a Syrian hamster. I don't really care which hamster actually, but as long as they're fun to keep, tameable, and fuzzy, then I like them. Thanks guys!
 

laura220

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Once you've tamed a Syrian hamster it will never go wild again but with dwarves if you leave off a few days of good handling they'll go back to their wild ways. ;)
 

pink piggy

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Cool! I've never heard of that before. Thank you, laura220 ^^
 

TabithaTwitchit

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I have a Syrian and I used to have Dwarf Hamsters. My Syrian is very tame... When she's not excited by the sound of the rest of my family downstairs. lol My Dwarf Hamsters were usually pretty tame. I had some that were much more tame than others. It seems that the hamsters who grow up to be chubby are tamer than the ones who grow up to be skinnier. It's something to do with the genes. I don't know if Syrian Hamsters are like that too, because Rover is the only Syrian I've ever had.
 

pink piggy

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Hmmm... these are all good pieces of advice. Thanks guys! :cheerful:
 

SkinnyPiggys

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pink piggy

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Hmm... I've checked there already, and they don't seem to have any hamsters up for adoption in my area. :sad:
 

wickedrodent

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Syrians are the best in my opinion (mostly because of the reasons stated above) I have had many and I have never had one that took more than a month to train. None of mine ever bit after they were trained and most of them never bit at all. The dwarf that we have now is a vampire, but I had the most loving cambells dwarf. He died about two years ago and was the sweetest dwarf I have ever met. Though, for a beginner I would recommend a female syrain.
 

katiecavyNC

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I ditto - we have a two hamsters in separate cages. One is a teddy bear and he is sweet as he can be. We have a female short haired hamster (not dwarf, just the generic variety) and she has earned the name 'evil rat' because she doesn't just bite, she launches herself at the cage when she sees you sneaking by. These guys are now getting on in age (over 3 yrs) and she is finally mellow enough that I don't have to put on gloves when I catch her to clean the cage.

I recommend the teddy bear variety too if you are looking for a pet you can take out and handle.
 

wickedrodent

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katiecavyNC- it seems both of your hamsters are Syrians. (One long-haired, one shorthaired.) These are both the same, and it doesn't matter which you get.. one is not betteer than the other, there are just certain hamsters that do not liked to be handled.

There are two main types of hamsters: Dwarfs and Syrians
Dwarfs come three varities: Cambells, Winter Whites, and Roborvski (sp?) Syrians are either long haired or shorthaired but either way, they are Syrians. Teddy bear, Panda Bear, Dalmation.. etc are just fancy names pet stores use to bump up buisness.
 

CavyKid17044

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I have a dwarf and she bites, but she is really full of energy. I don't know how she does it! =)
 

Buggie_00

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We had a female teddy hamster named Chucky last year. She wasn't extremely social and didn't like to be bothered much. She also loved to chew on things, so even though we had a few chew sticks and so on in her cage for her to chew on she managed to chew a hole in her upstairs bed area and escape a few times. I saw what I thought was a mouse or rat run into my kitchen about a week after we got her and had a fit. We found out it was her and loured her out with some food. After that no matter what type of cage we got we had to go on regular Chucky hunts, and once she got out and we didn't know untill several hours later and she chewed up the cord for the blinds and ruined them. After that our only option was an aquarium with one of those mesh lids so that she would be safe. We got a 20 gallon so she had plenty of room, then one day she was "sleeping" under her wheel and didn't wake up. She's now burried in the back yard by the fence. RIP Chucky...I didn't like those blinds much anyway. :)
 
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